Broncos: No comment on ‘It Gets Better’ campaign

“The Denver Broncos are committed to tolerance, acceptance and respect for all in the community,” said Smyth. “The National Football League is currently working with USA Network on its ‘Characters Unite’ campaign combating prejudice and intolerance, and our organization is in full support of that movement to help raise awareness for this very important cause.” Smyth declined to provide a specific comment on It Gets Better.

Although it's disappointing that the NFL and the Broncos won't support or even comment on It Gets Better, it's great to hear the league is working with USA Network's campaign to promote tolerance and fight discrimination in all forms. I hope it's not an empty promise from Smyth and the Broncos/NFL, because Characters Unite doesn't appear to have the sharpest of teeth to it - they've only put out two press releases in all of 2011, there are zero corporate entities on their list of official partners, and they haven't updated their Facts & Statistics page in over a year.

As our fellow Broncos fan Deborah Braconnier details in her fine column on the matter, the Red Sox and Cubs have already put together It Gets Better videos.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

you are right, the petition was started by Andy Szekeres who is a noted activist and fundraiser on gay rights issues. Instead of quietly making the request Mr. Szekeres started the petition then went on to interview with the huffington post calling out Tebow by name, so while the organization itself may not be guilty of attempting to co-erce support it does not change the fact that this is more of a political stunt than an actual attempt to get the support of Tebow or the Broncos(if they had it would just be a bonus). He did succeed in shining light on the issue, so at least some good will come out of it, I still think it is a poor way to go about it thoughPosted by SeanieP on 2011-12-22 22:21:59

Just to restate the facts here...

1. It Gets Better did not approach Tim Tebow or the Denver Broncos. Rather, this is an online petition started by a Broncos fan, and it's been signed by over 8,700 people so far.

2. Patrick Smyth, representing the Broncos, chose not to comment on It Gets Better. However, he did respond to HuffPo by saying the NFL is getting involved with Characters Unite.Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-12-22 21:27:56

I don't disagree with anything you said, however publicly twisting the arm of a celebrity in order to force their endorsement of a charity is about the least classsy thing that you can do. By approaching the Broncos organization publicly through the media they aren't actually looking for support, they are looking to make the Broncos, and by proxy Tim Tebow take a public stance on gay rights. If I was the team my policy would be to automatically deny any requests for support that are made through the media, period no exceptions.Posted by SeanieP on 2011-12-22 21:14:21

are you insinuating that the fact that Tebow is the Qb of the Broncos is not the reason that this group aproached the Bronco's?...if so why not approach the NFL as a whole seeing as how not a single NFL team has participated to datePosted by SeanieP on 2011-12-22 21:06:30

Tim Tebow the brand is worth millions. What he is doing is a smart business move even if I don't agree with it at all.Posted by SpaceCowboyInLG on 2011-12-22 20:55:22

When did Tim Tebow change his name to Patrick Smyth? Did I miss something?Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-12-22 20:36:49

My guess would be that Tebow actually turns down more requests like this from charities(gay/straight/religous or non) than you would think. There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of activist groups and charities that would love a piece of Tebow. I would assume the majority of them send a letter to his agent, or his foundation contact and Tebow responds in the manner he can help them if he is able at all.....my guess would be he is not capable of responding to all the requests he receives.

This organization instead of approaching Tebow or his foundation in private so that he could make a decision privately based on his beliefs and his ability to help approached Tebow publicy and has put an admitted evangelical christian in the position to either support their organization publicly or be accused of supporting the suicide of Gay teens. I personally think it is a completely classless act. I'm sure the it gets better campaign would be happy to get behind mission work for evangelicals spreading Christianity and proper helathcare throughout the Phillipines...after all they don't support improper healthcare for the Philipinos right? For the record I am pro-choice and pro gay marriage, however I see a bullshit publicity stunt when I see itPosted by SeanieP on 2011-12-22 20:15:21

Perhaps you guys can help me out with this.

What does Tim Tebow have to offer to a group like It Gets Better? When Tim Tebow stands up and says don't worry, it gets better... just how powerful is that to a young gay person going through devastating bullying?

I would think that the It Gets Better campaign would be more interested in openly gay celebrities and sports figures that can stand up say "hey, I've been there before and felt what you've felt, and it does get better." In some ways, I would think that hearing those words from a non-gay sports celebrity would seem contrived and perhaps a little offensive in their own right. I mean, how could they be sincere? How could Tebow possibly know what that is like?

This triggers the cynic in me and makes me think that this mini-story is more of an attempt to test Tebow and perhaps cause him to "slip up". Asking Tebow to take a stance isn't meant to help young gays feel hope for the future as much as it to try and muck Tebow's reputation. I feel that this will be a common threat for a young man as popular as Tebow is. Doing more for people than the top 1% of the world isn't enough for the rest of the 99%.

Bullying in schools across this country is an issue that nearly every one of us has dealt with, whether we are gay or not. It affects kids who are smart, big, small, pretty, ugly, gay, straight, and klingon. Maybe one day the It Gets Better Campaign will work to help all kids who find their self-image destroyed by the teasing and bullying of their peers.

Perhaps one day our acceptance of each other will stretch farther than simple blanket "hate group" labels and our tolerance will reach far enough to realize that we are all flawed and in need of a bit of graciousness from our peers here and there. Bullying goes beyond high school.Posted by Steve Rabon on 2011-12-22 18:55:47

Even a representative of Focus on Family has recently come out and admitted that the modern research shows overwhelmingly that sexuality is set at birth. Those who are gay, etc. are as the Divine - if you believe in the Divine, which I do - has made them. Helping children who have been often raised to believe that they are evil, hated and should be ostracized to develop the self-esteem that would reduce their rate of suicide isn't a Christian thing to do - it's just a decent and compassionate thing to do, regardless of your faith, agnosticism or atheism.Posted by Doc Bear on 2011-12-22 18:35:42

Yep, I said "these days." The dictionary is reflecting modern usage.Posted by Szmuszkiewicz38 on 2011-12-22 18:31:31

Thanks, TJ, makes sense.

And Herc, great points!Posted by Jon on 2011-12-22 18:15:11

Mateo - I think it's also fair to judge Tebow by what he doesn't do. Anyway, we'll see how this plays out.Posted by bradley on 2011-12-22 17:51:20

Let's judge Tebow by what he says and does, and not by who his friends are.Posted by Mateo on 2011-12-22 17:48:25

1.to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit; show partiality: The new law discriminates against foreigners. He discriminates in favor of his relatives. 2.to note or observe a difference; distinguish accurately: to discriminate between things.http://dictionary.reference.co...Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-12-22 17:40:39

SpaceCowboyInLG, Preferably both! Why not, if you've got a time machine?Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2011-12-22 17:39:37

That's a valid opinion, even if I think it's a bit of an exaggeration (I'd define a hate group as an organization that makes bigoted it's primary focus, whereas the Baptist church does a lot of positive things aside from their stance on homosexuality). But the problem is, what happens when one person holds a religious view that another person considers to be bigoted or hateful? I say, as long as the view isn't backed up by violent or illegal acts, you've got to allow it. If Tebow honestly believes that gays are an abomination*, who's to say he should he come out and defend gay rights?

If that's the case, I've lost a lot of respect for him personally. But until he comments publicly on it, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. As Mateo says, not every member of a given religion believes everything that religion espouses. And I know it pisses me off when people make assumptions about atheists.Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2011-12-22 17:38:41

It's actually a pretty savvy PR move on their part, if you ask me. Tebow's obviously a really big attention draw right now, and he's yet to make a statement on gay rights. It's likely that gay rights is the one issue on which he's not on the popular side of the argument (which is why he hasn't commented on things such as gay marriage). That's especially true when it comes to the It Gets Better / bullying issue, as that's probably the one issue that even those who don't support gay rights may be in favor of. So if he agrees, that's great, you just got one of the highest profile guys in the country right now to help your cause. If he declines, you can brew up a little controversy to raise your PR. It's a win-win situation.

Not only that, but if he declines you get the opportunity to take a shot at one of the religious right's favorite public figures at the same time. Now, that might be a bit immature, but you can't tell me that there aren't some people out there who would relish the chance to take him down a peg on the whole religion thing, and this is probably the one area in which he's vulnerable from a PR standpoint. I mean, not even the most hardened atheist (myself included) can really blame him for thanking Jesus all the time if that's what he really believes his heart, and he really doesn't seem to be one of these guys who acts pious publicly while hiding a bunch of freaky skeletons in his closet. Please keep in mind that I'm being cynical here though, I don't necessarily agree with their tactics, I just think it'll be effective in getting some attention. And I'm not defending either side here. I'm wholeheartedly in support of gay rights and think the It Gets Better campaign is an absolutely great cause. But I also think everyone's got to choose what issues he or she supports, and given all the other good things that Tebow does, I think I'll give him a pass for not supporting It Gets Better, even if I think he's wrong not to do so. I mean, there's lots of worthy charitable causes out there, and it's not like I support every one out there, so I'd be pretty pissed if someone wanted to call me out personally for not supporting issue X or Y (and make no mistake, this is 90% about Tebow, not the Broncos or NFL in general).Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2011-12-22 17:30:39

TJ Johnson Would that be 80's needs a scruffy dude to save her Linda Hamilton or 90's woman of steel Linda Hamilton?Posted by SpaceCowboyInLG on 2011-12-22 17:22:43

Space,

Like the members of the band Vixen, I still have a "thing" for Linda Hamilton.Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-12-22 17:07:39

I would say.....this kind of post elicits this response from me..... (re: possible comments)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...Posted by SpaceCowboyInLG on 2011-12-22 16:52:03

Jon,

I'm not in here to debate this issue (thankfully). We only have one level of reply, as to avoid long, diatribe-style debates and huge, scrolling threads. Just wanted folks to know.Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-12-22 16:51:07

Mateo: if Tebow is his own man he should be able to come out and defend gays. He won't because he's a Baptist. It would be nice if I'm wrong on this, but I bet I'm not.Posted by bradley on 2011-12-22 16:49:04

Just because I'm mormon doesn't mean I agree witht the church on every stance, similarly Tebow doesn't have to agree with a particular christian ideology on everything. I think you took a huge leap saying Tebow belongs to a hate group. I don't even know that he attends a Baptist Church per say. I know his dad was a pastor but Tim is his own man.Posted by Mateo on 2011-12-22 16:46:01

This:

"In some ways, this was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation". If he speaks in favor of the "It Gets Better" campaign, he will be attacked by the conservative, Christian conservatives, and given his massive popularity I guarantee you that it would make very, very large headlines. By not saying anything, he is seen as not supporting bullied youths."

(via SpaceCowboyInLG) I still don't know how to reply to a reply?Posted by Jon on 2011-12-22 16:39:40

Douglas Lee For some, it isn't a straight forward issue. As far as I know, very few sects of Christianity support Gay/Lesbian/Transgender lifestyle/groups (as one person I know so eloquently put it, "Supporting Gays is like supporting murder, rape and incest").

In some ways, this was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation". If he speaks in favor of the "It Gets Better" campaign, he will be attacked by the conservative, Christian conservatives, and given his massive popularity I guarantee you that it would make very, very large headlines. By not saying anything, he is seen as not supporting bullied youths.

It would be great if Tebow, The Broncos and the NFL would come out with strong support. The Gay/Lesbian/Transgender issue in America is far too polarizing for any multi-billion dollar industry to simply give support to such a decisive issue.

I lived in California during the entire Prop 50 fiasco, and even in a state as liberal and "hippy" as California, over 50%(technically 51%) of the voting population voted for it.

Too bad life is complicated. I mean, why can't everything be as simple as "stuffing vs potatoes"? (Correct answer: both :-P )Posted by SpaceCowboyInLG on 2011-12-22 16:14:45

Tebow in fact belongs to a hate group. It's called the Baptist church and they think gays and lesbians are an abomination, because the Bible says so. These people are calling Twbow out.Posted by bradley on 2011-12-22 16:07:09

The word "discriminate" is a misnomer these days. To discriminate is to use one's mind and to make reasonable distinctions. Bigotry, in contrast, consists of the use of prejudice and of the refusal to use discrimination. Many of those who insist others adhere to their opinions aren't very discriminating in their use of language or in their reasoning.

Posted by Szmuszkiewicz38 on 2011-12-22 16:05:06

I didn't say it was a strange request, and I'm sure he would speak out about bullying and discrimination , but to the kids that we are talking about Tebow would probably say something people wouldn't like.Posted by Jon on 2011-12-22 15:59:20

I can't say that I understand what one's religion has to do with telling young victims of bullying and discrimination to not be discouraged, and not to consider suicide. Since we know Tebow is such a good guy and makes it such a priority to help young people who are struggling, I don't think it was such a strange request.Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-12-22 15:56:48

I'm a little big surprised that the group wanted the Broncos — and specifically Tebow — to make a video about "It Gets Better," seeing as Tebow is so enthusiastic about his Christian faith, I doubt he really would have anything to say about the matter that they would want to hear.Posted by Jon on 2011-12-22 15:25:57